Run for the Water 10-miler

While it can be wearying, one of the benefits of racing all the time is that it's not long after a disappointing race before having the possibility of bouncing back with a good one. After having a terrible run last week in the Half Ironman, today I had a very good run in the Run for the Water 10-mile road race. The second leg of the Austin Distance Challenge, this event benefits the Gazelle Foundation, which build water wells in Burundi. Thanks to a beautiful clear, cold morning (starting temperature in the 40s), my average pace was actually just a tick quicker than the first Distance Challenge event, the IBM 10K. My time today was 1:19:26, for an average pace (according to the results) of 7:57 (my watch actually said 7:54).

Ironman 70.3 Austin

Sunday I competed in my toughest race so far: The 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, and 13.1 mile run of Ironman 70.3 Austin, also known as the Longhorn half. It was my first "half distance" triathlon (being exactly half of the famed "full" Ironman), but won't be my last. While I'm not entirely pleased with my overall time of 6:42:15, I am pleased with my bike performance, and that I finished at all. I never really doubted that I would finish, but I wish I would have been able to actually run more than I did. Pressure in my stomach made anything faster than a walk with brief jogs painful.

IBM 10K

For my seventh timed event in the past six weeks (the sixth being the South MoPac TT Tuesday night, where I had my best time yet, 19:17, 25.1 mph average), this morning I raced in the IBM Uptown Classic 10K. Unlike last week, I managed to stick to my game plan (and my legs weren't wasted from the day before), and finished in 49:27, a time I'm quite pleased with, and resets my 10K PR from the previous 50:55 set at Cap 10K in March. This race was also the first stage of the Austin Distance Challenge, a series of five races culminating in the Austin Marathon in February.